The following Bermudians are among those honoured by the Queen in the New Year's Honours List:

William Alexander Graham Boyle, OBE, spent 27 years of his life serving the Corporation of Hamilton and eventually became the City's mayor.

Mr. Boyle was first elected as a Common Councillor in 1969 and became an Alderman in 1985. He was Deputy Mayor for six years before he was elected Hamilton's 22nd mayor in 1994. He held the post until 1997.

During his time with the Corporation, Mr. Boyle served on every committee. As chairman of the Street Committee and the Finance Committee, for instance, he oversaw construction of the multi-storey car park at Bull's head and the bond issue that financed the project.

Mr. Boyle was also a director and president of W.J. Boyle and Son Ltd., the shoe sellers, for more than forty years. He was active in Rotary and in government at the parish level and served on the Fire Services Board, the Bermuda Library Board and the Development Applications Board.

After graduating from Harvard in 1941, Llewellyn Vorley, OBE, spent the next five years as a Lieutenant in Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In 1946, he returned home to work for the Bermuda Electric Light Company Ltd. In 1982, he would retire after a long term as the company's chief executive officer.

"I was pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish with the Bermuda Electric Light Company over the years," Mr. Vorley recalled. Under his leadership, "Bermuda was certainly growing in leaps and bounds," and Belco had to quench the Island's growing thirst for electricity.

Mr. Vorley also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of N.T. Butterfield, Island Press Ltd., Bermudian Publishing Company and the Mid-Ocean Club. He is a founding member of the Bermuda Employers' Council and served as the organisation's president twice. He was also president of the Caribbean Employers' Confederation and represented employers at three International Labour Organisation meetings in Geneva.

In 1965, Mr. Vorley headed a committee that raised approximately 75,000 to furnish the new King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. He is a past member of the Hamilton Rotary Club and a current member of the Bermuda National Trust. He is also an Elder in Christ Church Warwick and a member of the Marine Board.

Mr. Vorley was also a founding member and president of the Bermuda Yachting Association and served as Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for eleven years until 1977. He is now an honorary member of the club for his contributions to local and International Yachting. And though he no longer plays the game, he is also a life honorary member of the Bermuda Senior Golfers' Society.

The 83-year-old was nevertheless surprised by the honour. "At this stage in my life, it certainly comes as a surprise."

"I've been retired for almost 20 years," Mr. Vorley said. "For some reason they unearthed me."

Fred Hassell, MBE, became involved with senior citizens in 1971, and since then "he has demonstrated outstanding ability, both in the organisation and the activities of Senior's clubs throughout the Island," according to a Government press release.

Mr. Hassell is a founding member of Age Concern and organised the Year of the Older Person in Bermuda. For the past 25 years, he has been an honorary priest in the New Apostolic Church.

"I'm humbled and honoured that Bermuda would give me this recognition," he said. "It all comes about because of the tremendous inspiration that I have received."

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Hassell described one of his current ventures - a programme that seeks to instil ethics in schoolchildren by exposing them to the wisdom of seniors.

"We have the retired gentleman of the programme and they go out as grandfathers," he explained, "and they have visited over 1,000 children in all the primary and middle schools simply strengthening their character. It's been tremendously enriching.

The programme is designed to help young people "in ethical decision making". The children are encouraged to listen to the seniors recount incidents in their life and recognise the virtue in their stories.

Mr. Hassell also organised a Senior Readers' Group which allows senior citizens to assist schoolchildren who have difficulty reading.

On Monday and Thursday mornings, Mr. Hassell co-hosts with Marlene B. Landy the "60-Something Programme", a radio broadcast on ZBM popular with seniors.

Acclaimed chef Frederick Elsworth Ming, MBE, has won many awards and medals for his culinary work. Mr. Ming's experience includes cooking on cruise ships, meal preparation for flights to and from Bermuda and catering jobs.

Since 1973, Mr. Ming has taught cookery to full time day students and part-time evening students at the Bermuda College. He was also the team manager and coach of the College's Junior Culinary Team, which has travelled around the world and won several medals and awards.

Mr. Ming holds several diplomas and certificates from top culinary institutes and is a member of several restaurant and hotel associations.

Prominent activist Sheelagh Ann Cooper is being honoured for her service to children and families in Bermuda.

Mrs. Cooper is chairman of the Family Resource Network and executive director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children. She organised the Bed for Every Child Project and the Habitat Programme.

She has also assisted families in their search for housing, instituted a food stamps programme and helped families acquire school books and uniforms. She has personally financed many of her charitable initiatives.

For the past decade, Suzette Lurene Harvey has exposed Bermuda's youth to professional dance through the Bermuda Dance Company and United Dance Productions, two ventures which she founded.

The Bermuda Dance Company is Bermuda's first professional touring dance company.

"Through her school's commitment to excellence, discipline, teamwork and a superior work ethic, her dancers have been able to develop self-esteem and professional aspirations," a Government press release stated.

A single parent at 17 and mother to a second child at 19, Sylvia Hayward-Harris has overcome adversity and dedicated much of her life to issues affecting women.

Mrs. Hayward's community service career began in force in 1987, when she founded the R.A.P.E. (Rape Action Prevention Education) Crisis Centre, now the Women's Resource Centre. Three years later, she volunteered as a facilitator for the Women's Group at Addiction Services.

In 1991, she went back to school in New York, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Human Services and a master's degree in adult education.

"I am proud that I actually went back to school," she said. "It didn't look like I was going to do very much of anything."

Mrs. Hayward-Harris returned to Bermuda in 1997 to work at Fair Havens as a counsellor to women suffering from substance abuse. The next year, she moved to Focus Counselling Service and then to her own private practice, while teaching several components of the Additions Training Programme at Bermuda College.

She is now part of the team which is planning the opening of a re-vamped and a restored Fair Havens early next year. The long-time advocate of rehabilitation services for prison was also part of the team that designed the treatment programme for the newly-developed Transitional Living Centre.

"My aim is to change the world," she said, before pausing for a moment. "Well, at least the world I live in."

Shirley Iantha Outerbridge has been a member of St. John Ambulance for more than 20 years and is the longest-serving award member.

A former Emergency Medical Technician, Mrs. Outerbridge is a qualified instructor in First Aid, Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation and the Public Access Defibrillator. She teaches over 50 classes a year on behalf of St. John Ambulance.

Mrs. Outerbridge has also been involved with the Bermuda Scout Association for over 30 years. She served the association as a troupe leader, medical officer and instructor and participated in a scouting camp in Pennsylvania.

Former nurse Freda Siggins is almost 90 years old, but she still finds the time - and energy - to visit fellow seniors at the Packwood Home in Somerset. "We have a little knitting class there," she explained. "I've been going up there for about 10 years."

It's not the only volunteer activity that keeps her occupied. "I go in every Monday to Red Cross Rentals where we rent the wheelchairs [at the hospital]," she added.

Mrs. Siggins' began training for her nursing career in 1930 and spent 14 years at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital as Ward Nurse and Assistant Matron. She then moved to the newly-opened Electrocardiograph Department.

"I did the very first electrocardiogram in Bermuda," she recalled, "and I enjoyed that work very much." She ran the department for 26 years.

When she retired from the hospital, Mrs. Siggins worked for several years at the LCCA Office before becoming a Pink Lady at KEMH.

Gina Spence-Farmer, well-known for the initiatives of the production company which bears her name, is being recognised for her work with young people.

"She has developed various programmes to enhance young peoples' talents and to develop their minds to become productive citizens in the community," a Government press release sated.

Her productions include Youth Talk 2000, International year of the Senior Citizen, Save the Children Telethon, Special in-house projects for CedarBridge Academy and a Community Peace Walk. She is also involved in the International Carib Festival, the Street Festival for the Homeless and the Westgate Correctional Facility show.

Mrs. Spence-Farmer has received several awards for her work, including the Woman of the Year Award.